


Confession Letter

by SparkyFrootloops



Category: Hyouka & Kotenbu Series
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions, Love Letters, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28395405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkyFrootloops/pseuds/SparkyFrootloops
Summary: When Houtarou decides to confess his love in the form of a letter, it goes very wrong when someone else beats him to the punch.
Relationships: Chitanda Eru/Oreki Houtarou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31
Collections: Hyouka Secret Santa 2020





	Confession Letter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Catering_fears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catering_fears/gifts).



> This was part of the hyouka server gift exchange, and I had a blast working on it.

Houtarou’s eyes were drawn to Chitanda like a moth to a flame. She was so beautiful, even when she wasn’t trying ( _ especially _ when she wasn’t trying), so much that it was irresistible for Houtarou. It was to his advantage that she didn’t seem to notice him staring, but that didn’t mean that no one else had noticed. 

“So,” Satoshi swung an arm around Houtarou’s shoulders, pulling him close so that he could whisper conspiratorially into Houtarou’s ear. “Chitanda, huh?”

Houtarou huffed, eyes averting to the side to avoid any kind of eye contact, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yet, even as those words left his mouth, he found himself looking back at Chitanda again. His cheeks burned, the flame of embarrassment bright and hot but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He hunched forward until his face was half buried in the circle of his arms, Satoshi coming down with him. “Ok, maybe I do know something about it.”

Satoshi wagged a finger at him, making a little  _ tsk tsk  _ sound as he did. “Lying will get you nowhere, my friend. Especially with someone who is so generously offering you his help.”

“You’re offering help? For… what, exactly?” 

Satoshi sat back so that he could properly spread his arms, presenting himself on a silver platter, “Your very own human database, I hold all sorts of information, remember? I know all the tricks to get a girl to like you, and even more? I know all of the things that this girl  _ likes _ .”

Houtarou wasn’t sure that this was the best idea, to be honest. He was content to look from afar and admire as he had been. Except, maybe he wasn’t. How many times had his dreams featured him taking Chitanda out on dates? How many times had he been called out in class for daydreaming, always caught in the middle of picturing Chitanda in a wedding dress walking toward him as-

Satoshi was waving a hand in front of his face. He must have slipped into the daydream again. Satoshi shook his head, fond. “You’re hopeless, you know that?”

Houtarou rolled his eyes, “Are you going to insult me, or help me?”

“Both, duh. Now look, this is what you’re going to do…”

(~)

The plan was simple: write a confession letter, place it in Chitanda’s shoe locker, wait for her reaction. Here’s where the plan went wrong: someone else had put one in her locker before Houtarou had finished drafting his.

Houtarou stared in horror as Chitanda opened her locker that very afternoon and out dropped a neatly folded envelope with a heart on it.

“Wow, didn’t think you’d be so fast.” Satoshi said.

Houtarou did his best to keep his breathing even and tried to keep himself calm, but it felt like a losing battle. “I didn’t make mine yet. That’s someone else’s confession letter.”

Satoshi’s mouthformsed an O, looking at Chitanda as sheopensed the letter curiously and read the contents inside. She blushed, because of course she did, and quickly shoved the paper into her bag even though the only people who were paying her any attention were Houtarou and Satoshi. 

“That’s a bummer.” Satoshi, stating the obvious, said.

Houtarou didn’t really listen, just went over to his locker to get his own shoes and quietly sulked his way to his house. 

(~)

_ Ring! Ring! _

Houtarou barely lifted his head to glance at the phone on the table next to him. By some people’s standards, it would be considered close, but for Houtarou it may as well have been on the top of Mount Everest. Just thinking about all the steps that it would take to answer the phone tired him out. He was wrapped up snug as a bug on the couch in his blanket, it would take so much effort just to get himself free, let alone the herculean feat it would be to tear his eyes away from the television longer than just a glance. He allowed the answering machine to pick it up, and stayed where he was. The television droned on, his mind only giving just the barest hint of attention to what the voice on the machine could be saying.

" _ -message after the beep. BEEP! _ " 

"Oh, ok, I guess you're not home." 

That was Chitanda's voice. Houtarou had never moved so fast in his life, scrambling to reach the phone and getting himself hopelessly tangled up in his blanket in the process. He fell flat on his face, wrestled with the sheet, and fell a few more times for good measure just to make sure he had absolutely no dignity left by the time he made it to the phone to pick it up before Chitanda hung up.

"He-Hello?"

"Houtarou!" Houtarou did his best not to melt at the sound of his name, but at least Chitanda wasn't there to see him fail at it. "I was afraid I missed you, but I'm glad you answered."

"Yeah, sorry, I was... in... the bathroom." Houtarou wished the earth could swallow him up, but just his luck that it would stay solid underneath him. Not even a small crack, the traitor.

Chitanda's voice was shaped like a smile when she answered, "Of course. Sorry for disturbing you, but I wanted to ask for your help with something."

"Help?" Houtarou had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't like where this was going, but it wasn't like he could hide again. "With what?"

"I received a letter today." Oh yeah. Houtarou was  _ definitely _ not going to like this. "And I was wondering if you could help me find out who it's from."

"They didn't put a signature on it?" 

A crinkle of paper, a hum of Chitanda thinking, and a quiet "No. But you're very good with mysteries, Houtarou."

Right. Right, that would just be his life, wouldn't it? He had been too slow in making his own confession letter so someone else had beat him to it, but of  _ course _ they would make Houtarou play matchmaker and help Chitanda to  _ find _ the admirer. "Right. I can do my best."

"Thank you, Houtarou. I'll bring the letter to the club tomorrow and we can try and find out who it is then, ok?"

With his throat closing around the words, Houtarou had to squeeze his next sentence out. "It's a date."

"Have a good afternoon, Houtarou."

Houtarou said his own goodbye, set the phone gently on its cradle, then promptly fell face first back onto the couch so that he could scream his frustrations into the void.

(~)

Satoshi was laughing. Houtarou's life was in shambles and Satorshi was laughing. He’d barely walked into the club room before the jokes started, leaving Houtarou with his face in his arms to hide the redness of his cheeks. Again. "Hold-hold on. Not only did this person  _ beat _ you to the confession-"

"Shut up."

"But Chitanda is asking  _ you _ to help her  _ find him. _ An admirer that  _ isn’t you! _ "

" _ Shut UP _ ." But there wasn't any real bite in his words, he was too tired to put more effort into his words than strictly necessary. He'd been up all night wondering if it was even worth it to finish his draft of his confession letter, and ended up with about a dozen near identical letters that were all very much not good enough and probably couldn't compete with whatever had Chitanda interested enough to search out a no-name letter. Now he had a notebook full of half-started sentences and phrases of admission and absolutely nothing to show for his efforts but a yearning in his heart and the bags under his eyes. 

“What are you going to do when Chitanda gets here?” Satoshi plopped into the seat next to his friend, cheek resting in his hand so he could give his most annoying look directly in Houtarou’s face. 

If Houtarou wasn’t already a walking sleepy zombie, he might have shoved his friend out of his chair, but as it was he settled for just giving his most dry look in return. “You mean after I die of embarrassment? Help her, probably.”

Houtarou had debated on lying and saying it was his own confession, or even just pretending that there was no way he could find out who had sent the letter, but he knew that it would only take one Look from Chitanda and he’d be putty in her hands. 

"Sorry I'm late." Chitanda slid into the club room as bright and pretty as ever. If Houtarou’s cheeks weren’t already red from Satoshi’s teasing, they would have been cherries by now. He was always struck senseless by the way Chitanda entered a room. Somehow it was both quiet and gentle, and yet a whirlwind of the energy she always seemed to have in excess. She smiled as she sat down, pulling her bag into her lap so that she could dig through the contents. She pulled out the letter, handing it over to Houtarou with a confidence that was probably misplaced, yet made Houtarou’s heart feel warm. 

Once he had the letter in his hands, he didn’t dare to look at Chitanda. For all he knew, the owner of this letter could be her prince charming. With numb fingers, he opened the letter and carefully unfolded it. His heart sank when he recognized the handwriting. He wanted so badly to lie, to tear up the note and maybe even burn the remains so that no one would ever be able to find out who wrote this, but he couldn’t do it. For as much as Chitanda’s faith in him was probably misplaced, she’d placed it all the same. She trusted him to, if not solve the mystery, to at the very least give her the truth. He took in a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come next.

“It’s Hanazawa.” He’s proud of himself for how steady his voice is, even if he can feel something crumbling inside. “From the honors classes.”

The letter slips from his hand, picked up a moment later by Chitanda’s gentle fingers. Hanazawa is smart, handsome, someone popular enough and in good social standing to rival even Chitanda’s high status. If she wanted, she could go to Hanazawa and tell him that she would accept his confession and that could be the start of something new for her. Something  _ better _ for her than some nobody like him could offer.

Chitanda hummed, looking over the letter in her hands with a small pout.“That’s a shame.”

Houtarou and Satoshi both looked up at her in surprise at that.

“Wait, it is?” Satoshi asked, because Houtarou couldn’t seem to string two words together over the sound of his brain breaking in his skull. 

Chitanda nodded, "Yes. I was hoping it was from someone else." 

She looked up, and her eyes met Houtarou's. They were expectant, waiting, and of course Houtarou couldn't think of a single thing to say. He coughed, trying to fish for anything to say that could properly show what he felt.

"Oh for the love of-" Satoshi groaned in impatience, reached over to Houtarou's bag and pulled out one of the many discarded confession letters that he'd written. Houtarou tried to snatch it back, but before he could do anything it was in Chitanda's waiting hands and being read by her eager eyes. 

Houtarou sank into his chair and waited for the rejection, the dismissal, the announcement of unrequited feelings, but it never came. Chitanda finished reading, set the letter down and smiled at him. 

She accepted his confession, and even returned it. Houtarou wished he could have recorded the moment, but he would have to settle for it being burned into his memory. It wasn't an event he would soon forget.


End file.
